PR and Communications Officer

PR and Communications Officer

Application Deadline: 5 August 2026

Department: Marketing & Communications

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Liverpool

Reporting To: Head of Marketing and Communications

Compensation: £27,598 - £29,911 / year

Description

Job Title: PR and Communications Officer Department: Marketing and Communications Salary: £27,598-£29,911 / year

Job Type: Full time 35 hours per week, permanent

We’re looking for a PR and Communications Officer to join our Marketing and Communications team at The City of Liverpool College. This is a new role for the team, created to strengthen how we tell the College’s story externally and build our profile with the media, partners, and wider stakeholders.

You’ll develop and pitch news stories, manage media relations activity, and produce content that puts our students, staff, and achievements in the spotlight. You’ll also work closely with our Business Development and Employer Engagement team, supporting their communications with partners and employers — including a regular stakeholder email produced through our CRM.

This is a great opportunity for someone who can write confidently, build relationships with ease, and wants a role where they can genuinely raise an organisation’s profile.

Key Responsibilities

Media relations and PR

• Draft and distribute press releases, news stories, and statements to local, regional, and sector media
• Act as a day-to-day point of contact for media enquiries, escalating to the Head of Marketing and Communications as appropriate
• Proactively identify and develop stories that raise the College’s profile, including student success, staff achievement, and community impact
• Build and maintain relationships with local, regional, and sector media contacts
• Support the coordination of media interviews, briefings, and filming requests
• Monitor media coverage and flag reputational risks or opportunities to the Head of Marketing and Communications

External content and storytelling

• Produce high-quality written content for external audiences, including press features, case studies, award submissions, and partnership materials
• Interview students, staff, alumni, and partners to develop stories and testimonials for use across external channels
• Ensure all content reflects the College’s brand standards and tone of voice
• Repurpose stories and content effectively across external platforms, including the College website, social media, and partner communications

Partner and stakeholder communications

• Work closely with the Business Development and Employer Engagement team to plan and deliver communications that support employer and partner relationships
• Produce and distribute a regular stakeholder and partner email using the College’s CRM, ensuring content is relevant, accurate, and well-targeted
• Support the development of external-facing materials for employer engagement activity, including events, campaigns, and partnership announcements
• Help maintain accurate contact and engagement data within the CRM to support effective stakeholder communications

Reputation and profile

• Support the development of reactive statements and holding lines where required
• Assist with crisis communications as directed by the Head of Marketing and Communications
• Contribute to award submissions, sector publications, and other external profile-raising activity

Collaboration and planning

• Work closely with colleagues across the Marketing and Communications team to align external stories with wider campaign and content activity
• Build strong working relationships with curriculum teams, student services, and senior leadership to identify and develop communications opportunities
• Contribute to team planning and reporting, sharing coverage and performance data to evaluate the impact of PR and communications activity

Generic duties include:

• To contribute fully to the mission and values statement of the College Group ensuring its effective implementation in all aspects of College life.
• To take proactive responsibility for Health & Safety to ensure that a safe working environment and safe working practices are maintained at all times.
• To comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
• To support cross college actives as required in particular the key enrolment and invigilation periods.
• Carry out any other relevant and appropriate duties as determined by the needs of the service and as appropriate to the grade.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Essential Criteria

• Experience in a PR, communications, or marketing role, ideally within education or the public sector
• Strong writing skills, with the ability to produce accurate, engaging copy for a range of audiences and purposes
• Experience writing and distributing press releases, statements, or media pitches
• Confidence interviewing people and developing compelling stories from conversation
• Ability to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines across multiple workstreams
• Strong relationship-building skills and the confidence to work with senior stakeholders

Desirable Criteria

• Experience producing stakeholder or partner communications, including email campaigns
• Familiarity with CRM systems or email marketing platforms
• Understanding of media relations principles and experience building press contacts
• An understanding of the further education or public sector landscape
• An understanding of GDPR and data handling in a communications context
• Qualification in communications, PR, journalism, or a related field, or equivalent experience

Please Note

This role may close earlier than the advertised deadline if we receive sufficient applications. Early submission is strongly encouraged.

Benefits

Why Join The City of Liverpool College?

Benefits of working at the College

As a valued member of our College community, you’ll enjoy a comprehensive range of benefits, dedicated wellbeing support, and meaningful opportunities for professional growth and development.

Pension Scheme

You'll be part of the Local Government Pension Scheme with employer contributions of up to 20.20%, one of the best pension packages in the sector.

Leave entitlement

Up to 30 days annual holiday allowance, plus 1 wellbeing day. You’ll also benefit from 5 to 7 days statutory closure and 2 further days closure at Easter.

Employee Benefit Platform

As part of your role, you’ll have access to the COLC Employee Benefits Platform, a one-stop hub for a wide range of perks designed to support your wellbeing, work-life balance, and everyday savings. You’ll be able to access discounts at major supermarkets, fashion and lifestyle retailers, tech stores, travel providers, and more. You’ll also benefit from the Cycle to Work Scheme, cinema and leisure discounts and tech and home appliance discounts, with the option of spreading the cost through salary sacrifice. The platform is part of our commitment to supporting you in every aspect of your working life – and beyond.

Health and Wellbeing

As part of our commitment to supporting your health and wellbeing, all employees have access to the Health Assured Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – a completely confidential support service available 24/7, 365 days a year. Whether you’re facing personal challenges, looking for advice, or simply need someone to talk to, Health Assured is here to help. Through Health Assured, you can access a 24/7 confidential helpline, face to face, online or telephone counselling, as well as structured support for a wide range of issues including stress, anxiety, relationships, bereavement, legal and financial concerns.

You'll also have access to the online wellbeing portal, a secure, user-friendly platform offering a wide range of self-help resources, health assessments, articles, and guidance covering emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing, and to the Wisdom App, which offers mood trackers and wellbeing tools, meditation guides, fitness videos, and self-help modules as well as daily wellbeing tips.You’ll also be entitled to a free eye test through our voucher scheme with Specsavers, which covers a full eye exam (worth up to £25) and even includes £45 towards a pair of glasses. We also offer free flu vaccinations to help keep you feeling your best all year round.

Travel

We offer interest-free loans to help you buy annual travel passes from Merseytravel and Merseyrail. That means you can enjoy the savings of up to two months' free travel—without having to cover the full cost upfront. It’s all about making your commute more affordable and less stressful.

Flexible Working

We offer flexible working options depending on business need to support our employee's work-life balance.

Professional Development

We’re passionate about helping you thrive, offering a mix of formal and informal professional development opportunities—designed to sharpen your skills, expand your knowledge, and accelerate your career.

College Benefits

Our excellent sports and fitness facilities can be used free of charge by staff. You can also access a range of discounted hair and beauty treatments at our Academy and Graduate Hair & Beauty Salons, and a staff discount at our Academy Restaurant.